Port shares to-do list for Chula Vista bayfront

CHULA VISTA  The year will both begin and end with destruction in Chula Vista, if all goes according to the Port of San Diego’s plans to make progress on the Bayfront Master Plan.

The plans include imploding the now-defunct South Bay Power Plant in February, said Port Chairwoman Ann Moore at a Chula Vista City Council meeting last week, and demolishing the former Goodrich Aerostructures South Campus at the end of H Street sometime in the fourth quarter.

“We want to start the year demolishing stuff and end the year demolishing things as well,” Moore joked.

She was updating council members on what will be done in the coming months to move forward on the port’s and city’s dream for an integrated bayfront development consisting of business, recreational and retail opportunities.

Demolishing the mammoth power plant and cleaning up the old Goodrich site are top priorities this year, because that will make room for parks and extending H Street to bring it closer to the bay. Construction of the new portion of H Street should be finished by this time next year, Moore said.

Also on the port’s to-do list for 2013 is hiring a development and financial-strategy consultant to help the city and port put together a comprehensive business plan that would ensure the bayfront is looked at and marketed as one whole project, Moore said.

“We wanted to prevent just a few sites from being utilized and then the remaining sites being left vacant for years to come,” she explained.

The Board of Port Commissioners should vote on the consultant in February, Moore said.

Port and city staff are also working on design guidelines that would become part of the port’s marketing and development efforts.

Meanwhile, the port launched a speakers program to promote the Bayfront Master Plan — a joint effort by the port and the city to ensure that the public is receiving a consistent message about the project and its progress.

Port Senior Planner Lesley Nishihira explained some of the finer details of the efforts in the works for 2013.

“As you can imagine, this large master plan encompasses many, many smaller projects,” she explained. “Our success in realizing the plan depends on our ability to coordinate carefully and currently on various projects.”

Staff members from both the city and the port are meeting at least once a week, she added, and have been divided into smaller teams to address specific needs, including infrastructure, finance and design.

In the third quarter, members of the public can expect to see a draft of the Natural Resource Management Plan for the master project.

And by the end of the year, not only does the port plan to demolish the former Goodrich property, but to also issue a request for proposals for the resort conference center and hotel site, which is to be an anchor for the overall development.

Nishihira added that the timelines shared for the various projects are estimates, and not promises.

Councilwoman Pamela Bensoussan asked why it would take so long to finish the H Street construction and to issue the request for qualifications for the resort conference center.